Amid the rough start for the Ranger bats, the pitching staff, for the most part, has been holding it down, manufacturing wins despite the lack of run support. That being said, they have been terrible in a niche part of the game that is killing this team on a nightly basis: controlling the run game.
Anyone who has played baseball at a competitive level understands that while a big part of it, it does not fall completely on the catchers to throw out runners. The pitchers have got to give them a chance by changing up their timing to the plate, holding them off, throwing over from time to time, etc.
Rangers pitchers are terrible at this part of the game, and it is driving fans, and me, insane.
Catchers Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka both sit about league average in their pop time to second base at about 2.00 seconds. Heim is also in the top half in terms of arm strength behind the plate as well, so there is no excuse that both of the Rangers' catchers should be ranked in the bottom 4 in all of baseball in caught stealing above average.
In 26 chances between the two of them, they have thrown out one single runner trying to steal second base. That one can’t happen at the big league level, and two, it is not completely on them. The blame lies mainly on the pitching staff.
Rangers pitchers are simply the worst in baseball at holding runners and preventing extra bases. They have given up a league-worst 27 stolen bases and have only created one single out. Texas has prevented -13 bases compared to the league average, the next worst are the Tampa Bay Rays at -10.
This is not an ability issue for the staff, it is incompetence.
Rangers pitchers are barely paying attention to base runners, letting them lead off more than any other team, and are seemingly refusing to acknowledge a slide step or being remotely quick to the plate to give catchers a chance.
It is coming across as an organizational decision to ignore baserunners and focus on the hitter. This works in certain situations throughout a game, but when you have only cut down one steal attempt as a team, something needs to change. Coming from a Bruce Bochy-led team, these types of basic, fundamental errors are hard to believe.
It is at a point that if the leadoff runner gets on, it might as well have been a double because if they have any speed whatsoever, they are going to be on second base before the next at-bat is over. Maybe if the offense was rolling, they could overcome something, the extra run or two given up due to these extra bases, but that is not the case currently, and it feels like a complete mindset has to change within the entire pitching staff.